"It's somewhat expected with some guys coming out of the draft now," Melvin said. "You just hate for it to happen to your guy. You'd rather him have it earlier than later and get it out of the way."
Ranked as Milwaukee's No. 14 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, Kirby fell to the Brewers in the Competitive Balance Round A due in part to missing nine weeks of his junior season at the University of Virginia because of a muscle strain behind his left shoulder.
Kirby returned from injury to pitch 4 2/3 innings for Virginia in the College World Series, including two scoreless innings to earn the save in the championship-clinching game for the Cavaliers.